Effective Acne Treatment

Updated on September 20, 2009

Effective Acne Treatment

Acne can be such a stubborn and persistent problem that it
can leave people who have suffered from it asking the questions “Is there any
truly effective acne treatment out there today?” I understand this desperation,
because I have had to deal with acne personally before as well. All through my
teenage years, especially once I hit high school, I dealt with acne, and man, I
was put through the ringer for it. The insecurity and embarrassment that it can
create can truly be debilitating to a teenager’s confidence in social
situations. But anyway, before I start delving too far into past memories and
end up feeling like I need therapy, the topic of finding effective acne
treatments is vital to your self-confidence, as many times clear skin can be
the difference between having confidence versus not having confidence. There
are several different chemicals and substances that are used to treat acne
topically such as retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, but many of these
types of chemicals can do more harm than good, as they often can react harshly
to people with sensitive skin. From my own personal experience using
practically every single anti-acne skin cream and facial wash on the market at
one time or another, I had serious issues with salicylic acid breaking my skin
out. One time it made the skin on my cheeks completely scaly and flaky, to the
point where any time I wore a black shirt, you could see the “snowfall” from my
face on the shirt (unless it was dandruff and I didn’t know it—well, that’s
another hub for another time). What I found out, as many others have who also
deal with sensitive skin, is that most over-the-counter acne treatments in the
form of skin creams and facial washes have astringent properties, primarily due
to the alcohol content in most of those products, causing the skin to be dried
out instead of truly moisturized and rejuvenated. One of the things that’s
quite ironic is the fact that you have skin “moisturizers” that contain
alcohol, which is the ultimate drying agent…but I know they have to put a
certain amount in there to keep those products from taking on too much of an “oily”
feel, and also so that the product can actually be absorbed into the skin.

Image courtesy of Google Images by way of acnemedicationtreatments.com

Effective Acne Treatment: The Role Diet Plays

As far as finding an effective acne treatment, I have found
that taking a different approach can make all the difference in the world. What
I mean by a “different approach” is basically the preventative method, which is
really the best way to go. Healthy skin starts from the inside out; this was
one of the most eye-opening things I realized about taking care of my skin. To
even begin to treat acne effectively, you must do all that you can to “stack
the odds in your favor” in the form of taking care of your body overall. Poor
diet many times can actually lead to poor skin. If you eat a diet full of fried
foods, oily foods, or foods that are very low in fiber, it will eventually show
up in your skin because of the toxins that are present in those foods
(especially fried foods). One of the biggest hindrances to clear skin is
failure to drink water. If you do not consume at least 6 to 8 eight-ounce
glasses of water a day, you’re really short-circuiting your skin’s health. Your
skin needs lots of water to stay supple and hydrated, and drinking water
overall is one of the building blocks to truly healthy skin from the inside
out. So yes, there are other treatments out there that can help to reduce the
appearance of acne on the face, or even dry up the acne so that it will
eventually “fall off” the skin, but in my mind there’s really no better way to
go for an effective acne treatment than to go the preventative route. So keep
in mind those simple tips as far as drinking tons of water and laying off the
fried foods. Foods like chocolate and peanut butter especially are good to keep
in moderation and, if possible, avoid altogether, due to the heavy oils that
they contain. Again, diet plays such an essential part of maintaining healthy
skin and keeping those pimples away. That’s it for this hub…I’m barely keeping
my eyes open, so I’m out.

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